


Phone Call

by FierySucculent



Category: Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, M/M, One Shot, based on a prompt, first fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 14:23:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13273320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FierySucculent/pseuds/FierySucculent
Summary: After a business deal gone wrong, Flug is left mortally wounded and alone. Knowing he doesn't have much time left, he decides to call Black Hat and carry out the conversation like usual, making sure to mention that he loves him and giving Demencia a few tips when she hijacks the phone. The doctor's casual tone doesn't hold as Black Hat starts to suspect that something is wrong.





	Phone Call

The suitcase kept hitting his left leg as its weight made his walk slightly uneven. Doctor Flug winced underneath the paper bag as he felt his hand becoming sore again, but he was too close now to change it again. He entered a dimly lit tunnel and immediately cursed his luck as he stepped into a puddle. 

His eyes took a while to adjust to the lack of light. He made a few tentative steps in the darkness, slowly approaching two silhouettes propelled against the opposite sides of the tunnel. As he neared them they seemed to push themselves off the wall at the same time. Flug gulped, slightly unnerved by how in sync they seemed to be. He was honestly hoping to have a meeting with a robot. It would have been so much easier. And quicker. 

"Doctor Flug we presume?" said the one on the right, extending his hand towards the scientist. Flug took it, squeezing and letting go just as quickly, hoping to limit the physical contact to the bare minimum. The doctor hands were bare and the texture of the man's leather gloves combined with his strong grip resulted in Flug scrambling for his personal space as fast as he could. 

"Uh, yes, and you two are..?" he asked, letting his hand fall near his lab coat's pocket, fiddling with the material. Now a safe distance away from them, Flug allowed himself to get a better look at the one that spoke to him. He was wearing an oversized jeans jacket thrown over a plain white t-shirt. He looked young, and Flug figured that he must be gelling his fringe for it to stay up the way it does. Eyes flicking to the other man, Flug couldn't help but notice their similarity. 'Brothers? Maybe even twins,' his mind supplied.

"We're here on Rapidia's orders. We'll be the ones finalizing the transaction with you," said the one on the right again. Flug didn't take his eyes off of the other man, conveniently dressed in a black leather jacket, thrown over a similar white t-shirt. After making sure that the silent brother will not pounce him once he looks away, Flug found it within himself to scoff.

"I thought my boss m-made it clear that Rapidia is to show up in p-person," he said, raising his eyebrows, unimpressed. He tightened his grip on the suitcase, when they offered no response. "Black Hat doesn't appreciate dishonest clients, and I don't appreciate evasive ones. What are your names?" He tried again, with more force this time. He expected at least some masked hesitation at the mention of Black Hat's name, but the men remained unmoving. He did get their attention, though.

"...So rude of us; my name is Bartholomew and this is my brother Igor," he said and Flug's mind attached the names to the jackets. Flug glanced again at Igor, getting more unnerved by his silence with every passing second. "Now that we all know each other, why won't you pass us the suitcase?" Flug's eyes snapped back to Bartholomew and he clenched his jaw. 

"This is n-not what we agreed upon and I don't see the p-payment anywhere," he bristled, his hand slipping into his coat, his fingers coiling around the handle of the ray gun. 

"Give us the device and we'll be on our way." Despite his brother's words, Igor unsheathed what looked like an ornate dagger and started toward Flug. The scientist himself was about to take out the ray gun and run for the exit, when he noticed the other villain stopping abruptly. There was a coughing sound behind him. 

"I have to say, you couldn't have chosen a sketchier place," commented a new voice, "I'm not surprised to see you here, Doctor Flug." The voice said pointedly and Flug was close to screaming, it was just his luck that a hero would show up. He turned around and located the source of the voice as the woman standing in front of him. She was casually dressed, the only thing distinguishing her from an average person being her massive brown wings. She raised herself in the air and Flug narrowed his eyes. He recognized her.

"Breeze F-falcon, h-how nice of you to show up!" He quickly scanned for any escape from the tunnel. 'Why did I agree to meet in a tunnel?!' he felt himself starting to panic and he pointed the ray gun at the hero. "S-seems like I'll h-have to h-humor you." 

"I can't wai-," Breeze Falcon was interrupted by a sudden beam of light to her left, "that was rude." Her eyes flared blue as she sent a strong gust of wind in his direction. 

Flug ducked from the attack, dropping the suitcase in the process. He switched the ray gun to his now free left hand and aimed at the hero again. She swiftly avoided his shot and before he could fire at her again he felt a piercing pain in his abdomen. 

"Should have just given us the device," a hoarse voice whispered in his ear as the blade was removed from his gut. Flug gasped and he would have doubled over in pain if not for the man holding him upright. His eyes widened as he noticed Igor reach for the suitcase. He whimpered as he felt the knife enter his abdomen again, this time a bit lower, but with less force. His mind almost did not register as he and his attacker fell to the ground, swiped by one of Falcon's attacks. He landed on his attacker, closing his eyes and giving in to the pain.

A piercing scream forced him stir. Breeze Falcon fell to the ground, a similar dagger to the one that entered his abdomen in her back. Igor was on the ground near him, most probably unconscious, while Bartholomew has just noticed that Flug is awake.  
"N-no..." Flug managed to say, while his hands searched for his gun frantically. Bartholomew yanked the dagger out of the body of the hero and started to walk towards Flug. The scientist used all the force he had left to steady his hand and shoot at the approaching man. The beam went through his chest and he stumbled backwards before he fell not far away from the hero. Flug sighed with relief, his heart beatig at impossible speeds.

His bottom lip trembled as he looked down at himself. He could not stifle a small sob at his blood-soaked clothes and the small puddle that has pooled around him. A small voice inside his head tried to convince him that it might be someone else's blood, but he was a logical man. He knew better.

Realizing that he was still lying on on of his attackers he tried to move away only to let out a silent scream from the pain shooting from his abdomen. He clenched his teeth and dragged himself to the side of the tunnel, left hand still clutching the gun. He let his head fall against the wall and he idly wondered if the feeling of cold came from his loss of blood or the cold ground and his soaked clothes. 

His head pounded in sync with the fast beating of his heart, no doubt due to the exertion he just put his body through. He wheezed with every short breath and his mind was screaming at him to calm down, to slow down his heart, _to not bleed out_.

"I don't w-want to- I d-don't want to d-die..." he croaked, his chest jumping slightly with his sobs. He had so much in front of him! He had people he was leaving behind! He was supposed to finish designing the Disintegration Cannon today and- and Demencia would come disturb him... and 5.0.5. would scold her for making a mess and he would be so thankful to that bear... or maybe Flug would scream at them both for making a mess and 5.0.5. would whine until Flug felt guilty enough to play with them to make up for it. They were his friends, he shouldn't treat them like that. He would eventually finish the project very late and Black Hat would find him in the kitchen at 3 a.m. eating microwaved lasagna fro-

Black Hat. He won't ever see him again. Unless, maybe, the demon decides to visit him in Hell. Flug smiled at that. 'That would be nice,' his mind decided. An idea struck him, 'maybe I could try to-'. Flug let out a choked whimper as he accidentally moved his body while trying to reach the inter pocket of coat. Now, a bit more carefully, he fished out a cellphone. He sucked in a quivering breath and shivered as he opened the contact list. 

His finger moved stiffly through the list, quickly clicking on 'BOSS'. He raised the phone to his face and waited for it to connect. For a few seconds the only thing he could hear was the fast beating of his heart still reeling from the energy it took him to drag himself to the wall.

"Yes?" Black Hat sounded bored, he was probably doing paperwork. " _Hello?_ " Flug smiled, his boss could be so impatient. 

"H-hey," he rasped and covered the phone's speaker as he coughed up a bit of blood. He spit it out and put the phone against his ear again.

"Are you alright?" Black Hat's voice had a touch of concern to it. 'You could just admit to yourself that you're worried,' Flug thought to himself, amused. He always had trouble expressing himself.

"Y-yeah. I'm j-just... I'm just checking in," he said out of breath, just after such a short sentence, and he never felt more grateful for his natural stutter. 

"...Sure, let's say I believe you," Black Hat said, unimpressed, "I'm just letting you know that the deadline for the Disintegration Cannon is today, so you'd better be back soon and finish it or there _will_ be consequences." Flug chuckled and winced immediately as he found the action extremely painful.

"You could j-just s-say that you miss me, sir," he said enjoying the indignant sound at the other end of the line, "I'm all alone." His smile dropped at that. 'I'll die all alone in this dark tunnel, with only corpses around me. Oh god, I don't want to die. I don't, I don't, I don't-' 

"Your phone could be tapped," he said in a conspiratorial whisper and that was all Flug needed to bring him back from the panic that was taking over his mind. He cracked a smile and was about to respond when there was a very loud noise on the other end that almost made him drop his phone. 

"Oww!" he complained, gripping his forehead.

"Sorry," his boss did not sound sorry at all, what's more, Flug could swear he heard him snicker, "that was my chair."

"Are you going somewhere?" Flug revelled in the normalcy of this conversation, his crazed thoughts finally finding peace while he listened to Black Hat.

"You were gone for the whole day and I had to catch up with my paperwork, since a certain someone distracted me from it the last few days," Flug could hear the fondness in his voice and could not help but smile. "Which means that the lab was open and easily accessible," he continued and Flug felt his terror grow.

"I forgot to lock the lab?!" He could feel cold sweat on his back. Or was it his damp lab coat?

"Are you really surprised? You always do that." Black Hat commented absent-mindedly and Flug would have dropped his face in his hand, if not for the gash in his side stopping him from making any sudden movements.

"Please tell me she di-" he was interrupted as with the sound of the door opening there came a quick, loud crash and some background bickering he could not make out until:

"Hiya, Flug, that you?" Demencia said and there was more than a note of satisfaction, which Flug assumed was directed at her acquiring Black Hat's phone.

"Demencia," he tried to mask how happy he was to get a chance to talk with her, "I hope you didn't destroy my lab?" He asked not really caring about the answer. 

"Just trashed a bit," she said nonchalantly, "can't wait for you to clean it up." Flug could detect her smirk from her words.

"Me too," there was a strange sadness in his voice that he could not stop from creeping in, "I need you to do s-something for me, Demencia." His voice was close to breaking and Flug begged any god that has still not given up on him to let him do this last thing. "There's- There's a- Fuck," he swore as tears started falling down his face. 'Why are you always so _weak_?' even in his last moments, his consciousness was intent on breaking him. 

"Flug..?" now Demencia was concerned. Great. "Flug are you ok? Do you need me to tell Bl-"

"No!" he managed to get himself together. 'Not yet,' he told himself. "Listen to me carefully, Demencia. There is a door to the storage room in the lab. The entry code is 02873. There's some devices you can check out," he smiled at that, he did make some cool stuff, "but what I want you to do is go to the back of the room. There'll be lots of boxes with your names on them. I made them some time ago, but Black Hat thought it best not to give them all to you straight away. Now... I just think you might need them." There was a silence and Flug could count his heartbeats again. 'One, two, three... like seconds ticking away until my death.'

"Listen, doc, that sounds awesome, but-"

"Do you remember the password, Demencia?" he did not let her finish. She has to focus on this now. He made her repeat it. She remembered. She still sounded uncertain. "...I experimented a bit with maces and I made one that shoots spikes," he said after some time to get her to stop worrying.

"You did WHAT?!" she screamed into the phone, and Flug chose to take it as excitement.

" **There you are.** " He heard a demonic voice in the background, sounding distorted through the phone, but for all Flug knew Black Hat could have just gone for this aesthetic. 

"Shit." Was Demencia's reply followed by steady 'thuds' of hands and knees against thin metal. She was in the vents. Of course.

"Demencia!" he called. There was a last request he had.

"Yes?" there was the sound of heavy breathing on the other end.

"Can you pet 5.0.5. for me? I forgot to do it this morning."

"Flug, seriously? I'm about to die!" she shrieked into the phone and Flug winced at the sound.

"Promise me..?" he tried again.

"Humph! Fine! Your homicidal boyfriend is going to murder me, but your pet bear will be pet, so what do you care?" she rambled into the phone.

"I didn't know you know what homicidal means," Flug said with a slight smile.

"They wrote that about me in a newspaper once." She huffed. 

Flug chuckled and said, "Give him back his phone, Dem."

"He'll murder me anyway, what's the point?" She gulped and Flug could hear a horrible noise as if something was tearing through metal, which, he assumed, was what was actually happening. "Ok! Fine! I give up!" she exclaimed and suddenly there was a yelp.

" **I'll give you a head-start. Run.** " Flug could hear Black Hat and he involuntarily shuddered. "Doctor?" He asked harshly, still mad at Demencia.

"Here, sir." Flug replied instantly, with a note of fear at Black Hat's cold tone. There was a pause at that from Black Hat.

"Sorry for that," he mumbled sounding actually regretful. Flug felt a bit light-headed at that. It was definitely, because of his realization that he was the only one that will ever hear Black Hat being this bashful, and not because of all the blood loss. 'Not much  
time, not much time,' he thought as he looked at the blood pooling on the ground. 'I'll faint soon...'

"...maybe even in a few minutes?" he asked out loud and cursed almost instantly when he heard a confused sound from the phone.

"Are you talking to yourself?" Black Hat sounded amused. Flug sighed in relief. 

"Y-yeah. Sorry, I got distracted." He apologized with a small smile and he could hear the other snort at that. 

"Well, you'd be glad to know that the lab is safe, but it still looks worse than after you tried to make the prototype for the cannons." He commented dryly and Flug chuckled at that. "You seem to be in a good mood." Black Hat observed.

"J-just glad I can talk to you. I love you," with those three words Flug felt as if a weight was lifted from his chest. He will know.

"Love you too." Black Hat replied absently and Flug closed his eyes in contentment. 

"I wish I was home." He couldn't stop his voice from cracking at the word 'home' and he felt that he won't be able to hold his composure for much longer.

There was a pause again at the other end. "You should be soon, you are on your way back, right?" he asked and there was something in his tone that Flug couldn't completely make out.

"Y-yeah, I'm almost th-there." Flug shivered. It was getting really cold in this tunnel.

"Why can't I hear cars, then?" Black Hat replied immediately, that 'something' in his tone becoming even more pronounced. 

"I- I- I d-don't- There's no cars?" Flug proposed weakly and he could hear his boss scoff. 

"Where are you, Flug?" Black Hat asked and Flug thought that he didn't sound angry, but close.

"I'll be- I'll be h-home soon. I will. I w-will." Flug couldn't keep the slight panic from his voice from showing. 

"Flug, are you sure you're alright? What is happening?" Black Hat asked more urgently and Flug finally recognized that emotion in his voice as fear. 'Huh, didn't know he experienced that,' Flug mused to himself, vaguely noting that the phone with his hand was  
becoming increasingly heavier. 

"I'm so sorry," he could not stop a sob that shook his entire body. He hissed in pain as he tried to move his legs closer to himself. 'So cold, so cold, so cold.'

"Flug!" Black Hat tried to get his attention, "what is go-" he stopped suddenly. There was a tense silence that Flug could not bear right now. 

"S-sir?" his voice was small and scared. 

"Was it the clients or a hero?" Black Hat's voice was cold and emotionless and everything that Flug wanted to avoid.

"I'm so s-sorry I w-wasn't stro-" he let himself choke down a sob, "stronger." 

"Were you stabbed? Or shot?"

"I owe you s-so m-much, sir," he could taste his salty tears and he was thankful for the break from the constant metallic taste in his mouth.

"Flug, are you still at the meeting place?" And while Black Hat tried his hardest to keep his voice from betraying anything, Flug could still hear him opening the front door.

"I have the Disintegration Cannons all planned out, so my replacement should not have a problem following the instructions," he assured his boss, trying to sound professional. "I have some ideas mapped out in my noteboo-"

"Flug, damn it! **Stop!** " Black Hat's voice broke. So did something inside Flug. "There's no replacement. Hold on a bit longer." He sounded desperate. "I'll be there soon. I'll be there soon." And Flug wanted to believe, wanted to latch onto Black Hat's words and live by them, but a glance at his abdomen was enough for him to know the truth. Still, this was not for him. 

"Yes, sir." He forced out, putting as much strength into these words as his condition allowed him.

"Do not die. That's an order, doctor. Did you hear me? Say yes." Black Hat's voice had so much emotion in it that trying to decipher them made Flug's head spin.

"Yes, sir." He said again. It seemed to calm Black Hat a bit so he'll try. For him. 

"Why didn't you call me immediately. Tell me immediately. You complete moron, what were you thinking having small talk?!" The demon started ranting and Flug couldn't help, but flinch at the harsh words. He found it in himself to still be afraid, even while  
dying. Black Hat would no doubt be pleased. 

"I wanted to save you the trouble." Flug answered honestly. He saw his wounds, there was nothing to be done. He could practically hear Black Hat's breath hitch. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to hear you happy," he tasted his tears again and discarded any dignity he might have had left. 

"Flug..." there was that fear again. Flug grinned, there was a certain feeling of manic, raw power at making a creature like Black Hat feel scared. Even if it was only because he was dying. "Flug, are you still there?" His boss sounded defeated and Flug no longer liked the power. 

"Yes, sir." 

"Say my name."

"I love you, Black Hat." 

"I love you too, doctor." 

Flug heard something else coming from the phone but he could not make it out. His phone finally fell from his hand and he closed his eyes again, leaning his head against the wall. 

"Flug!" he could hear his name, but was too tried to respond. He smiled, there was no life flashing before his eyes, so he tried his hardest to recall his happiest memories. He couldn't focus and his mind kept coming back to his most recent conversation. He didn't mind. 

He didn't feel pain.

The cold did not feel that cold anymore.

He'll just rest and then fight some more.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really like how it turned out, but I wrote it so here it goes, I guess. I'm still trying to work out how to write the characters, so sorry if they seem stiff or OOC. Tell me if you notice anything I could get better at, feedback's always greatly appreciated. Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
